Bournemouth vs Leicester City. Premier League.
Vitality StadiumAttendance11,155.
Saturday 29 August 2015 21:21, UK
Jamie Vardy's penalty five minutes from time secured a 1-1 draw for Leicester at Bournemouth in a game of few chances.
Vardy was fouled in the 85th minute and converted the spot-kick himself as Leicester finished strongly on the south coast.
It had appeared that Callum Wilson's superbly-taken goal after 24 minutes would be enough to give the division's newcomers their second successive Premier League win.
Wilson fired home an excellent overhead kick after Charlie Daniels' low cross found its way into his path via a deflected Max Gradel header.
But Vardy showed good pace to get away from Steve Cook, who tripped him for a penalty which the referee had no hesitation in awarding.
The striker, who scored in the Foxes' opening-day win over Sunderland, made no mistake from the 12-yard mark to give his side a point which means they are now third in the table. Bournemouth are 11th.
The goals were the only real chances in a game which did little to live up to its pre-match billing as a contest between two in-form teams.
Leicester have made a big impact in their three Premier League games this season and good things are increasingly being expected of Bournemouth after their highly encouraging 4-3 win at West Ham last weekend.
Both teams played with intensity and energy in the opening 20 minutes but were unable to translate either quality into goalscoring opportunities.
Wilson's fine strike was the first of just two shots on target Bournemouth managed all game and it had the twin impact of both settling the match tempo down and rocking Leicester's confidence.
It was low-key stuff from that point until around a quarter of an hour from full-time, when the visitors began to press higher up the pitch and with added urgency.
Their midfield player N'Golo Kanté provided plenty of thrust from the centre and Jeffrey Schlupp's piercing runs and crosses from the left wing were the main source of danger to Bournemouth.
It seemed the home team had done enough for all three points when Kanté set Vardy free to burst into the box with an acceleration which was his trademark last season.
Cook went to ground with a clumsy challenge for a certain foul and Vardy fired home from the spot despite Artur Boruc getting both hands to it.
Player ratings
Bournemouth: Boruc (6), Francis (6), Elphick (6), Cook (5), Daniels (7), Ritchie (6), O'Kane (6), Surman (6), Gradel (7), Tomlin (5), Wilson (7)
Subs: Pugh (5), Mings (6), Smith (5)
Leicester: Schmeichel (6), De Laet (5), Huth (6), Morgan (6), Schlupp (7), Drinkwater (6), King (6), Mahrez (5), Kanté (8), Albrighton (6), Vardy (7)
Subs: Okazaki (5), Dodoo (5), Benalouane (4)
Man of the match: N'Golo Kanté
